Welcome to Nursery
Children are always excited to engage in the environment both indoor and outdoor when they begin their journey at Churchfields nursery. We welcome children with open arms and want their time here to be exciting, enjoyable and interactive.
During your children’s time here we want them to be happy, inquisitive, safe and to become independent learners. We provide a caring, stimulating environment full of awe and wonder. The relationships built between the staff and the children are full of nurture and understanding.
The early years curriculum incorporates 7 areas of learning to enable your child to build relationships, learn and thrive.
The areas of learning are:
Communication and language
Children are encouraged to sing songs, build sentences, use new vocabulary and share stories.
Physical development
Children develop their gross motor and fine motor skills in order to move with confidence, mark make and strengthen their hands.
Personal, social and emotional development
Children learn how to make friends, share and talk about how they feel. They become part of the nursery team and learn how to negotiate, work together and build confidence.
Literacy
Through our love of stories the children learn how to handle books, retell stories and talk about the illustrations. They learn to recognise their names and begin to form letters when ready.
Mathematics
Daily counting and numerals in the environment enable children to quickly learn mathematic skills. Puzzles and jigsaws encourage children to learn at shape around them.
Understanding the world
Children are encouraged to talk about their families and time they share together. Through role play we look at different occupations and ways of life.
Expressive arts and design
Painting, drawing, mark making, singing and role play all encourage brilliant imaginations and creativity.
We provide a diverse literature, mathematical and experimental environment which encompasses all areas of the EYFS. Children are encouraged and given time to express themselves which suits their personality and style of learning and development by including their interests in their learning experiences.
We have an exciting outdoor area, which the children can access throughout the day. The children can experiment with the resources provided to enhance their imagination and their creativity with found materials and loose parts.
We encourage independence in self-care such as putting on their own coats and looking after their own belongings. We also encourage independence with their own learning by creating and thinking critically. We always want the children to have the confidence to have a go.
Our current topic is ‘What makes me special? ‘ and we have been brilliant at making friends so far. We are developing in confidence and have been building relationships with the adults in the room. We have shared the Owl Babies story and we have talked about who we live with. The story ‘Supertato’ encouraged us to talk about what we are good at and how we can help each other. Our Helpful Hero certificates are flying out of the door as your children work together to look after our setting. The text ‘Leafman’ looks at the Autumnal season and the changes that are occurring around us.
In nursery this term for Communication and Language we are focusing on a different song and story each week including Five currant buns, One Potato, Two Potato and Twinkle Little Star. The stories we have introduced are Owl Babies and Supertato. We are encouraging the children’s listening and attention skills. We are also asking the children to recall parts of the story and predict what might happen.
For Physical development we have started the sessions with Shake your Sillies Out and Wake Up, Shake up. We ask the children to feel their heart beats when we have carried out exercises. We are enabling the children to develop their skills by moving tyres, transporting objects and are balancing on planks and the fixed mushrooms. We are also encouraging the children to use scissors correctly, hold a pencil the correct way and develop their finger strength, when we take part in dough disco using playdough.
For Personal, Social and Emotional Development we are engaging in activities and games to promote turn taking, sharing and listening to each other. We encourage the children to use the puppets and share relevant stories to develop empathy and understanding of emotions.
We are also encouraging the children to be independent when using the toilet and putting on their own clothes and coats.
For Literacy we are promoting the love of stories and we share stories each day at the end of each session. The children are invited to find their names and photos at the start of the sessions. When they are ready the children will begin to write their names.
For Mathematics we will be focusing on numbers 1-10. Each week we will focus on a number, a shape and a colour. We count every day and provide a number rich environment for the children to look around both inside and outside. Puzzles and jigsaws allow the children to look and experience shape, space, size and properties.
For Understanding of the world the children are encouraged to explore materials and different natural environments. We will explore and investigate changes in the seasons through playing with stones, sand, water, leaves and sticks. The children will also celebrate differences between their friends and family.
For Expressive Arts and Design the children will express themselves with painting, drawing, mark making, singing and dancing. We will also explore keeping a rhythm when using different instruments and props. The children will also take part in a variety of role play situations which will encourage them to use their imagination.
